Two-way billfold



J. SCHWENK TWO-WAY BILLFOLD June 25, 1957 Filed March 25, 1955 23 FIG.3

FIG.2

FIG.4

INVEN TOR.

JOSE-PH SCHWEN K AT TOR NE Y TWO-WAY BILLFOLD Joseph Schwenk, St. Paul, Minn., assignor to Brown & Bigelow, St. Paul, Minn, a corporation of Minnesota Application March 23, 1955, Serial No. 496,149

7 Claims. (Cl. 150-38) This invention relates to a two way billfold wherein two longitudinal pockets are provided substantially the length of the billfold. The longitudinal pockets of the billfold are in juxtaposition and provide a convenient means for receiving paper bills from either longitudinal side of the billfold.

It is also a feature to provide a billfold made up of two members, one of which forms one side of the billfold and the other of which is died out in a manner to provide open transverse slits on the inside of the same. The member which forms the inner portion of the billfold and which is provided with the transverse slits in the central portion thereof is formed with longitudinal extending integral members which are adapted to be folded longitudinally on theinner surface of the central portion with one of the side members extending from the central portion being folded over upon the other of said side members.

A further feature of the billfold resides in providing cloth strips or thin members which act to separate and provide pockets which are accessible through the transverse slits. The separator members are each secured transversely adjacent the transverse slits and the peripheral edges of the separators are secured between the folded portions of the central member of the billfold: The transverse portion between the innermost slits is also secured to the surface of the side flaps when it is folded over onto the same. This provides a transverse sealingof the portion between the innermost slits which portion'is at the central fold of the billfold and which provides a transverse portion on the inner surface of the billfold which assists in guiding articles into the longitudinal pocket of the billfold which extends from the inner slits to a depth adjacent the outer transverse edge of the billfold. This provides a deep pocket for cards or most other items in the center portion of the billfold. The other transverse slit on the inner portion of the billfold is adapted to provide a shallow pocket which extends from the transverse slit to the transverse edge of the billfold.

Thus by providing an inner portion for the billfold which consists of a single piece member of leather or other suitable material wherein the central portion is formed with transverse slits to provide pocket openings and thin flexible separators are attached to this central portion in a manner so as to permit the transverse slits to act as openings or pockets in the central member, deep and shallow pockets are formed when the integral longitudinal side members are folded over upon the separators and the other side member is folded upon the mem-' her which is folded over the separators.

When the central member of the billfold with the transverse slits is folded together it is then attached to the outer member of the billfold by folding a longitudinal skive. When the longitudinal skived edge of this member is folded over and secured to the longitudinal edge of the central member which was folded over upon the member which covers the separators,- the other longitudinal skived side edge of the outer member of the billfold is 2,796,904 Patented June 25 1957 turned in and secured to the inner surface of the outer member to form a finished longitudinal marginal edge for one side of the billfold. The billfold is finished by sewing the transverse ends of the same together thereby attaching the ends of the inner member of the billfold firmly in place.

When the billfold is finished two longitudinally extending openings are formed for receiving paper money bills on either longitudinal edge of the billfold. This permits the recipient ofthe billfold to carry different denominations of paper money bills which are accessible from either longitudinal side of the billfold. Heretofore billfolds were made with one longitudinally extending opening for receiving paper money bills on one side of the same. My billfold has the advantage of two longitudinal openings extending on either side of the billfold. If the recipient desires, one of the longitudinal pockets in the billfoldcan be used as a more or less secret pocket for paper money bills. In addition to the foregoing features, the simplicity of the manufacture of my billfold will be apparent because the billfold is made of two major parts, the inner part which has longitudinal side flaps which are folded upon each other and the outer part which is adhered to the inner part as heretofore set forth and which forms the outer surface of the billfold. The transverse slits in the inner folded portion provide pockets with the sepp'arators which are deep and shallow;

The irregular formation of the transverse slits also act to assist entrance into the various pockets.

These features and also others together with the structural formation of the billfold will be more fully and clearly defined throughout the specification and claims:

Figure 1 illustrates an inside view of the billfold when it is opened out flat.

Figure 2 is an enlarged section on the line 2.-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 illustrates the manner in which the central portion of the billfold is died out and shows the separators secured to the central portion with the side members extending out flat before they are folded onto each other.

Figure 4 illustrates the outer member of the billfold laid out flat and showing the skived longitudinal edge.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail showing the method of folding of-the central portion and the adhering of the outer portion of the billfold to the central portion, one end of the billfold being broken away and the other'end unsecured.

Figure 6 illustrates a typical form of a separator member, shown apart from the central billfold portion, one end of which has an irregular shape substantially conforming to the slits in the billfold.

It is a primary feature to provide a billfold made of two mam parts which include the inner portion 10 shown diagrammatically in flat died out formation. The inner portion or member 10 is substantially rectangular in shape with a central portion 11 positioned between the portion 12 and the portion 13 which are integrally connected to the central portion 11. This permits the inner portion 10 of the billfold to be made from a single flat piece of leather or other similar material adapted to make up the completed billfold A. The inner portion of the billfold 10 is scored along the lines 14 and 15 on either side of the central portion 11 so that the portions 12 and l3'may be folded over upon the central portion 11.

When the inner portion 10 of the billfold A is in the proces of formation, it is died out into the form illustrated intFigure 3 scored along the lines 14 and 15 and transverse irregular slits 16, 17, 18 and 19 are formed in the central portion 11 thereof. These slits 1619'inclusive are adapted to form openings into a series of pockets which are formed in the inner portion 10 when the same 35v 7 is folded together and then attached to the member 20 which forms the outer member of the billfold A.

Before the inner member 13 of the billfold is folded together, cloth separators 21 or separators of any suitable material are secured to the inner surface of the central portion 11. These separators 21 cover the slits 16 and 19. One end 22 of the separators 21 is preferably cut to the same irregular shape as the slits 16, 17 and 18. This end 22 of the separator is adapted to be placed close to the slits 17 and 18 but not covering the same and is adhered by pasting the separator 21 transversely to the inner surface of the central portion 11 adjacent the slits 17 and 18 so as to firmly secure the separators 21 to the inner surface of the central portion 11. The separators 21 are also secured transversely to the inner surface of the central portion 11 adjacent the slits 16 and 1?.

After the separators 21 have been attached to the central portion 11 the portion 12 is folded over upon the separators 21 and the inner surface indicated by the band 23 (shown in dotted lines in Figure 3) is secured or firmly attached transversely to the inner surface of the central portion 11 between the slits 17 and 18.

The next step is then loosely folding the portion 13 over upon the portion 12. This completes the folding of the inner portion of the billfold A. The inner portion 10 is then ready to be attached to the outer portion of the billfold so as to complete the construction of the billfold A.

The portion 20 has longitudinal skived marginal edges 24 on either side thereof to thin these marginal portions so that they may be more readily folded and secured in place in the completion of the billfold A. One of the marginal longitudinal edges 24 is folded and secured to the inner surface of the member 20 (indicated in the enlarged sectional view of Figure 2). The other marginal skived edge 24 is adapted to be folded over upon the marginal longitudinal edge 25 of the member 13 (as illustrated in enlarged sectional view of Figure 2). The billfold A is then ready to be completed by securing the ends of the inner member 10 and the outer member Ztl to gether by suitable stitching 26 or by any other suitable means for attaching the ends of the respective members 10 and 20 together to form the ends of the billfold A. It will thus be apparent by referring to the sectional view illustrated in Figure 2 that the billfold A is formed with two longitudinally extending pockets which extend virtually throughout the length of the billfold A one of which is reached by spreading the longitudinal edges of the portion 20 and the portion 10 to provide the longitudinal opening 27 and the other at the opposite longitudinal edge of the billfold A to provide the entrance 28. Thus two separate longitudinally extending pockets 29 and 30 are formed in the billfold A, In the old form of billfolds only one pocket for paper bills was formed.

In my billfold A the two pockets 29 and 30 are entirely separated from each other by the portion 13 of the inner member 10. This provides a billfold A with two pockets for paper money bills, one of which may be used as a secret pocket as desired or one of the pockets such as 29 may be used for one denomination of bills and the other pocket 30 for a different denomination of paper money bills.

It will be apparent that the construction of my billfold is extremely simple owing to the fact that there are just two major parts such as the inner part 10 and the outer part 20. When these parts are formed and folded as heretofore described and are secured together, they provide the billfold A with not only the two separate pockets 29 and '30 which are accessible'along the longitudinal edges of the billfold but also the deep pockets 31 and 32 which are accessible through the slits 17 and 18, and also the shallow pockets 33 and 34 which are accessible through the respective slots 16 and 19, p i

The billfoldA is economical in construction, is easily formed and gives added features to a billfold adapted to be used for carrying paper money bills and cards. The billfold A, when completed, is adapted to be folded on the transverse score line 35 and may thus be folded in a compact state and adapted to provide a hip pocket billfold of a desirable nature,

I claim:

1. A billfold of the hip pocket type formed of two major parts, one of which forms the outer portion thereof and the other the inner portion, said inner portion having a number of transverse cuts formed therein to provide a series of separate pockets for cards or the like, a longitudinal free flap on one side of said inner portion having a free edge adhered marginally to said outer portion, a marginal longitudinal edge on the outer portion thereof foldable inwardly to provide a longitudinal finished edge for one side of the billfold and means for securing the ends of said inner portion and said outer portion transversely at the ends of said billfold to secure said portions together, said inner and outer portions being adapted to form two separate longitudinally extending paper money receiving pockets accessible at either longitudinal edge of said billfold.

2. A billfold of the hip pocket type which is centrally foldable, inner and outer portions, said inner portion being folded together on longitudinal score lines, a longitudinal edge of said inner portion being secured marginally to a marginal edge of said outer portion, and said innor and outer portions being secured together transversely at the ends thereof to form a billfold with two separate longitudinally extending paper money pockets which are accessible from either longitudinal edge of said billfold.

3. A billfold for carrying paper money bills including a body portion having an outer cover portion, an inner portion folded together along longitudinal score lines and secured to said outer portion longitudinally along one free edge thereof and transversely at the ends thereof to provide open longitudinal pockets on either side of said billfold for receiving paper money bills into separate pockets which extend longitudinally of said billfold.

4. A billfold comprising two major parts died out of flat leather sheets, one of saidparts forming the outside of the billfold, the other of said parts having a central por tion and flaps extending from either longitudinal edge of said central portion of approximately the same area as said central portion, one of said flaps being folded on the inner surface of said central portion and centrally secured thereto at the fold line of said billfold, the other of said flaps being folded upon said first mentioned flap to provide means for attaching said central portion to said outside part of the billfold, means for transversely securing the ends of said outer and inner parts together at the ends of said billfold, said inner and outer parts providing separate paper money receiving pockets, one of which is accessible along one longitudinal edge of said billfold and the other of which is accessible along the other longitudinal edge of said billfold.

5. A billfold formed of two leather sheets, one of said sheets forming the outer cover of said billfold, the other sheet forming the central part of said billfold and having a series of transverse slits cut in the central portion thereof, a longitudinal integral flap extending from said central portion on one side thereof, a second longitudinal integral flap extending on the other side of said central portion, separator members spaced apart at the inner ends thereof adhered to said central portion transversely at two points adjacent said slits, said first longitudinal flap extending from said central portion being folded over onto said separators and secured centrally transversely of said central portion, said second longitudinal extending flap being folded on said first longitudinal flap, means for securing said central part to said cover part longitudinally along the margin thereof, means for securing the ends of said central folded part and said cover part together to form the closed ends of said billfold, said transverse slits 5 and separators providing deep and shallow pockets in said central folded part.

6. A container for paper currency or the like formed of rectangularly shaped flexible material folded longitudinally along two equidistantly spaced lines to form a flattened substantially Z shaped transverse cross section, and means for marginally joining the folded sections together transversely at the ends thereof, thereby providing separated pockets accessible from opposite longitudinal sides.

7. A pocket case for currency or the like formed of leathern material, comprising a rectangular outer cover, a rectangular inner section subdivided longitudinally into upper, central and lower portions of substantially equal areas, said central portion having transverse slits formed therein, pockets accessible through said slits formed by folding said lower portion inwardly upon said central portion, means for attaching the longitudinal free edge of said lower portion marginally to said central portion, said upper portion being folded inwardly to overlie the exposed face of said lower portion, means for attaching the longitudinal free edge of said upper portion marginally to the longitudinal free edge of said outer cover to form a flattened substantially Z shaped transverse cross section, and means for marginally joining said folded inner section to said outer cover transversely at the ends thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

